Ironing article



Sept. l5, 1970. M E, ELUSQN 3,528,185

IRONING ARTICLE Filed Dec. 25, 1966 United States Patent O 3,528,185 IRONING ARTICLE Mary E. Ellison, 44 Industrial Road, Crystal Lake, Ill. 60014 Filed Dec. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 604,221 Int. Cl. D06f 79/00 U.S. Cl. 38-141 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE An article including a discrete layer of a polymeric substance, such as a silicone rubber compound as a source vfor application of a lubricating film to the working surface of an iron, and a base carrying the layer and having adhesive for mounting the assembly to an ironing board in accessible position for renewing the film on the working surface of the iron by passing the same in contact therewith; and the method of ironing or smoothing a fabric on an ironing board with such an arrangement.

This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for facilitating movements of a hot metallic structure relative to fabric and more particularly to a method and apparatus for applying lubricant to a hot working surface of an iron and to facilitate the ironing of clothing or articles of fabric.

When clothing or other articles of fabric are smoothed by pressing or ironing, the hot iron tends to stick or drag on the fabric. This sticking or dragging of the iron on the fabric increases the work required to iron the fabric. One prior art solution to this problem is to apply wax to the hot Working surface of the iron. However, this solution has proven generally unsatisfactory, since the wax gives off a strong, pungent odor. The unsatisfactory service provided by the use of wax is amplified by the tendency of the wax, after a period of use, to pick up dirt and to subsequently cause dark streaks in the fabric being ironed.

Another more recent solution to the problem consists of attaching a relatively thin pad of a polymeric substance, such as Teflonj to the working surface of the iron. These pads have proven generally unsatisfactory, since they are difficult to attach to an iron and must be shaped to conform to the working surfaces of many different irons. These difficulties are aggravated by the fact that the relatively thin pad of polymeric material tends to snag and tear in use. In addition, the heat insulating qualities of the polymeric material prevent the iron from effectively pressing and removing wrinkles from the fabric when the pad is made sufficiently thick to resist tearing in use.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to prevent the sticking of an iron relative to fabric by providing a method and apparatus for applying a lubricating film to the hot working surface of the iron.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for applying a film to an iron having any desired shape or configuration.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for quickly and easily applying a film of a heat resistant polymeric substance having a relatively low coefficient of friction to the hot working surface of an iron. These and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board and iron for ironing a piece of fabric with a supply of a heat resistant polymeric substance having a low coefficient of friction mounted on the ironing board;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating ICC the application of a film of the polymeric substance to a hot working surface of the iron of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a mounting means for positioning a supply of the polymeric substance on an ironing board;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View, taken along the line 4 4 of FIG. l, illustrating the relationship of the supply of the polymeric substance relative to the ironing board of FIG. l; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view further illustrating the mounting of the supply of polymeric substance relative to the ironing board.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIG. l a perspective view of an ironing board 10 of a well known structure. An article of wearing apparel or other piece of fabric 12 is positioned on an upper working surface 14 of the ironing board 10. The article of wearing apparel 12 is made of cloth and is positioned on the ironing board 10 for ironing or smoothing the wrinkles in the cloth by an iron 16. The article of Wearing apparel 12 is smoothed by moving a hot working surface 18 of the iron 16 across the outer surface of the fabric. The method of removing wrinkles from fabric by the use of a heated iron, similar to the iron 16, is well known and need not be described in further detail at this time.

A mounting assembly 2X4 is advantageously located adjacent to a rear end portion 26 of the ironing board 10'. The mounting assembly 24 positions a supply 30 of a heat resistant polymeric substances having a low coefficient of friction, such as one of the many commercially available silicone rubber compounds exemplified by Silastic RTV 732 by Dow-Corning Corporation. The mounting assembly 24 is advantageously positioned on the rear end portion of the ironing board 10 at a location where it is readily accessible to an operator of the iron 16.

As is perhaps best seen in FIG. 2, the operator of the iron 16 applies a film of the heat resistant polymeric substance 30 to the hot Working surface 18 of the iron by moving the iron transversely across the mounting assembly 24 with the working surface 18 in sliding engagement with the polymeric substance. As the iron is moved across the polymeric substance 30, a very thin film of the polymeric substance adheres to the working surface 18 of the iron. It should be noted that the iron 16 is normally used at a temperature of approximately 400 degrees Fahrenheit. By experimentation it has been determined that the heat resistant polymeric substance 30 should ad vantageously withstand temperatures of approximately 600 degrees F. to limit the transfer of the polymeric substance to the working surface 18 of the iron 16 to a rela'- tively thin film. It has also been determined that it is advantageous, when using the iron 16, to make several motions or strokes to pass or swipe the iron 16 across the polymeric substance 30 to form a thin even film of the polymeric substance on the working surface of the iron, The lm acts as a lubricant between the Working surface 18 of the iron and the article of fabric 12 to promote a gliding or sliding movement of the iron relative to the article of fabric. The film is worn away during the ironing of the article of wearing apparel 12 and should be renewed by sliding the heated working surface 18 of the iron 16 in engagement with the polymeric substance 30 as previously explained.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the mounting assembly 24 for the heat resistant polymeric substance 30 includes a fabric base pad or sheet 40 on Which a relatively long layer or strip 42 of the polymeric substance 30 is attached. It should be noted that the strip or layer 42 is positioned with longitudinally extending edge surfaces or areas 414 and 46 located in a spaced apart generally parallel relationship with longitudinally extending outer edge surfaces or areas 48 and 50 of the base pad or sheet 40. This spaced apart relationship between the edges of the strip 42 and the edges of the `base pad or sheet 40 provides a pair of mounting or application sections or areas 54 and 56. The mounting areas 54 and 56 permit a hot iron to be moved along the base pad or sheet 40 to heat a thermally activated adhesive layer 58 which is positioned on an inner surface of the base pad or sheet `40.

Referring now to FIG. 4 taken in conjunction with FIG. 5, the mounting assembly 24 is secured to an ironing board cover 64 by sliding a hot iron along the outer surface of the mounting areas 54 and 56 and heating the thermally activated adhesive layer 5S to secure the base pad or sheet 40 to the cover 64. It is contemplated that a conventional pad 66 will be positioned beneath the cover 64 on the working surface 68 of the ironing board assembly 10. Thus, the mounting assembly 24 is easily attached to an ironing board assembly by merely running a hot iron, which will be readily available, along the mounting surface areas 54 and 56 of the mounting assembly 24.

The structure and method of operation of the invention will be largely apparent from the foregoing description. However, so that the present invention can be thoroughly understood, it is advantageous now to provide a functional description of the mode in which the component parts cooperate. A piece of fabric, such as an article of wearing apparel 112, is commonly ironed by means of an ironing board assembly 10 upon which the fabric is positioned for engagement by the heated working surface 18 of an iron 16. The heated Working surface 18 will smooth out the Wrinkles in the article of wearing apparel 12 as the heated surface is slid along the fabric. To prevent the iron '16 from sticking to the fabric of the Wearing apparel 12, a thin film of heat resistant polymeric substance 3l) is applied to the working surface 18 of the iron to lubricate the iron and promote a free sliding or gliding action of the iron relative to the fabric of the wearing apparel 12 which is to be smoothed or ironed. The film of heat resistant polymeric substance will be applied to the hot working surface 18 of the iron 16 by sliding the hot working surface 18 of the iron on a supply of the heat resistant polymeric substance 30 mounted on the ironing board assembly 10 on a mounting assembly 24.

The mounting assembly 24 is advantageously connected to the ironing board cover 64 by means of a thermally activated layer of adhesive 58. Since the mounting assembly 24 is positioned on the ironing board cover where it can be easily reached during an ironing process, the film of heat resistant polymeric substance on the working surface of the iron 16 can be readily renewed by stroking or sliding the iron 16 across the Supply of the heat resistant polymeric substance which is positioned on the cover 64 of the ironing board.

Although the supply of heat resistant polymeric substance is advantageously retained on the ironing board assembly 10 by means of a mounting assembly 24 which utilizes a thermally activated layer of adhesive to secure a base pad or sheet to the ironing 'board cover 64, it is contemplated that the supply of heat resistant polymeric substance could, if desired, be built into the ironing board cover 64 during the fabrication of the cover. It is also contemplated that the heat resistant polymeric substance 30 could be supplied in shapes other than the strip 42 for mounting by a connection means other than the thermally activated adhesive. Therefore, while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it should be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications can be made; and it is contemplated to cover by the appended claims any such modifications as fall Within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

L An article of manufacture comprising base means in the form of a patch having on the bottom surface thereof a layer of adhesive and on the top surface thereof a discrete smaller layer of silicone rubber with low coeicient of friction leaving an exposed portion of the top surface of said base means to one side of the silicone rubber layer and on which an iron may be pressed to adhere the article to an ironing board in position for permissive passing of a heated iron over the silicone rubber layer to apply and renew a lubricant film to the working surface of the iron.

2. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is heat activated and wherein the positioning of the silicone rubber layer leaves exposed portions of the top surface of the base means on opposite sides thereof for passage of an iron thereover.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,109 3/1893 Lucas 15-104-.92 932,388 8/1909 Hartsock 15-104.93 2,877,577 3/l959 Jacobson 38--66 3,161,533 12/1964 Gaynes 117-68.5 3,325,928 6/1967 MaZZOlla 38-36 2,595,133 4/1952 Golden 2-260 3,414,995 12/ 1968 Adiletta et al. 38-140 MERVIN STEI-N, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

